If you are just joining us in-media-res as it were for this sequel, the first Alienoid film involved two robotic, intergalactic police named Guard and Thunder whose job is to retrieve alien prisoners who have taken up residency inside humans. They appear in 1380 to stop an alien and end up taking over the raising of the baby of the alien’s host who dies. We then jump to the future in 2012 where we find Guard and Thunder bringing up the child, Lee Ahn, as their own. Soon enough she discovers who they really are and is then recruited to fight against a particularly nasty alien named The Controller who attempts to release a substance into Earth’s atmosphere called haava that will make the planet more livable for the aliens but with the side effect killing the humans. They follow The Controller into the past of 1391 where a peasant named Mureuk rescues Lee Ahn from a crash landing but gets unknowingly inhabited by The Controller. Ten years later, Lee Ahn and Mureuk, who is now a shaman, meet up and seek out the divine blade which Lee Ahn wants to use to heal Thunder who was severely injured in the aforementioned crash. It all culminates in a final showdown with Lee Ahn and Mureuk against an alien invasion, ending with the reveal to the that Mureuk was the host of The Controller all along. Alienoid: Return to the Future picks up where the previous film left off with Lee Ahn attempting to make her way back to the future while meeting new threats who seek to possess the divine blade. Meanwhile in present day, another alien named The Architect has set loose haava that results in people’s deaths, sparking an investigation into the situation on more than one front. This is where it all comes together in one big climactic battle for the fate of all mankind!

Whew! That was a lot of plot. But we’re talking about essentially one long 4.5 hour film that was split into two parts for marketing purposes, so yes, a LOT happens. This South Korean sequel Alienoid: Return to the Future essentially doubles down on the first movie, adding even more characters and even bigger alien-fueled action. And while the effects aren’t on the same level as top tier Hollywood productions, it’s obvious that this movie has a sizable budget with some talent VFX artists involved. If you haven’t seen the first film, you will 100% be totally lost since you will be missing a lot of context in regards to who our main characters are, what their motivations are, and even what’s happening at a basic level. So I strongly recommend watching it first. Having said that, Alienoid: Return to the Future is such a fun and crazy ride that I could see someone being entertained by it even without watching the first movie in a purely “shut off your brain and watch the ridiculousness” kind of way. Honestly my biggest complaint with both films is the sometimes misplaced comedy that sneaks in occasionally. I get that they want to create the popcorn atmosphere of a big blockbuster film but, like some Marvel movies for instance, the comedic stuff can come at points that feel at odds with what may have preceded or followed them. Still that’s a relatively minor complaint for what’s otherwise a real blast to watch.

As usual, Well Go USA has graced us with an excellent digital transfer of the film with nary a blemish or glitch to be seen. The movie never distorts or causes issues even during the busiest action sequences. A tip of the hat goes to Well Go for their consistently good transfers. The DTS-HD 5.1 audio track also sounds very nice with nice separation across the channels and a real sense of immersion especially during the big action sequences. Overall, top notch marks on the technical front. The extras on the other hand are a bit lacking. We basically get one brief press kit “making of” that shows a few behind-the-scenes clips during the shooting of the film but with no real in-depth interviews with cast or crew. We also get what the back of the box calls a “Character trailer” that basically highlights several of the major players in the film with key scenes that define them a little. While this seems like fluff, it’s actually helpful to keep straight all the various characters in the narrative. We also get a regular theatrical trailer.

While the extras are skimpy, the technical presentation is excellent for this fun, crazy sequel that offers a lot of slick time traveling, alien-fighting thrills sure to please fans of the first film.